"Ronnie O'Sullivan Explores New Horizons: Could Leave Snooker for Another Sport in Just a Few Years"

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN may switch from snooker to Chinese Heyball pool next decade.

The Rocket, 50, last week in Deqing as part of a sponsors’ agreement.

The legend played four matches in total – he won two and lost the other two – as he exited the tournament at the Last-32 stage in China.

or Chinese billiards is played on a smaller-sized snooker table using standard eight-ball pool balls.

And the pocket sizes closely resemble snooker pockets than the wider pool variety.

, who frequently flies over to the Far East for competitions and to see friends, reckons he might pick up the new cue-sport at some point in the 2030s, especially if his displays on the baize started to wane come the age of 55.

The seven-time snooker world champion said: “The balls are a lot bigger, a lot heavier.

“The cushions come off at different angles. The cloths are very different. The cues are a lot fatter.

“Everything is different really. I played for about four or five days. In snooker, you know what your opponent is going to do. You know what you’re going to do. Okay, I feel like that is a good shot.

“Whereas here sometimes I play a shot and I think I’ve played a good shot but then it turns out to be a really poor shot.

“I felt very nervous. I don’t really know the game. These guys are playing every day, all the time. There’s a strategy to it. I’m probably a novice. It’s such a different game to snooker.

“I’ve been watching and learning. It’s probably one of my best weeks. The only way to compare it would be playing tennis or table tennis. It’s such a very, very different sport.

“At the moment, I’m still playing snooker. I’m enjoying my snooker. Maybe I’ll do another three or four years of that.

“Maybe when I’m 54 or 55, maybe a little bit too old to play snooker, I can come here and play some Chinese pool. Have some fun, relax. That is my thinking.

“It was more something I would do full-time, maybe in four or five years’ time. I watch a lot of these Chinese guys on streaming.

“To come here and meet the players, play with them, I’m a fan of theirs. I know how hard this game is and they make it look so easy. For me, I’m like a young boy meeting one of their heroes.”

Eze Chidiebere Paul

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